roc6783:It must suck to have all of those injuries and still win. Bitter Packers fan who vowed not to hope, failed like the Lions. At least we have one more shot.

Packers did exactly what the Patriots are doing back when they won the super bowl... spent most of the year dealing with injuries but still managed to grind out enough wins to get into the playoffs, and since Rodgers was healthy they rode his hot hand to a super bowl championship

either way i'd say it's a plus for NE given how open the AFC is... they've dealt with injuries and loss of players literally since this time last year, if they were in the NFC it might be a stretch tho since everybody over there is relatively healthy just in time for the playoffs

SurfaceTension:somedude210: Doesn't that also require Cincy to not blow it next weekend?

These aren't your father's Bengals, though.

How do you figure? They still haven't gotten over the Curse of Bo and until they do they're the same old Bengals until they actually prove otherwise. I could totally see them doing what the Lions did against the Ravens and blowing what should be a straightforward and important win against a terrible road team.

On thing is certain, unless Flacco is able to move, that O-line can't protect him. I know a lot of people will be saying "Flacco sucks" and so on, but many of those problems were more O-line problems and less Flacco problems.

Another problem is that Rice was actually gaining good ground on the few carries he had, but they stopped calling runs far too soon. I know Flacco has been carrying the team for most of this year since Rice and Pierce haven't been keeping up their end of the bargain, but they really needed to depend on them more since they were actually effective that game. The Patriots defensive game plan was "rush the QB and don't worry about the Running Backs. Test Joe Flacco's knee" and they executed. Meanwhile the Ravens offensive strategy was the same as always "pass to setup the pass" and they did not execute.

On the defensive side, Brady picked the defense to pieces. Right after his "friggin' Baltimore" comment, he went out and made the defense look like a bunch of pathetic losers. This was the place that Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were obviously missed the most. They both could game plan on the fly vs. QBs like Brady and Peyton, so that complete breakdowns like what happened today didn't happen. When facing the QBs that can't read a defense, but rely on high talent like Stafford and Dalton, the Ravens defense looks strong, but when facing a QB that doesn't need high talent, but can get by with reads and proper placement, they flounder like what happened in Week 1 vs. the Broncos and this week vs. the Patriots.

Now onto Flacco, I know I said he wasn't the main problem, but he holds some of the blame as well. He is always looking for the big play. No matter what the situation is. There were multiple times when the underneath throw could have gotten the Ravens a first down, but instead he chose to heave it downfield 40 yards looking for the big play. Flacco may not be Captain Checkdown, but if there was ever a game he needed to be, this was the game. Pitta open across the line? Lets through a bomb to Marlon. Marlon open underneath, lets throw over the top to Jacoby. Jacoby free across the sideline, lets throw it deep to Torrey. It's not bad to just move the chains from time to time Joe. I know Caldwell gives you a deep option on every play, but you don't have to take that option every time. Just get first downs and the game will manage itself, especially with a good kicker.

Speaking of "our idiot kicker", who is currently referred to as Optimus Nine, how can you make the most amazing kicks in the most high pressure situations, but miss such a simple one in this game? I know you are mad at Harbaugh for not calling you in sooner when the game was still in reach, but that's still no reason to shank a 37 yarder. Try not to choke next time m'kay. :)

I know the Ravens would have lost even without your terrible officiating, but that doesn't excuse how horrible the officiating was. Sure, that sack was defensive holding. Can't have the defense grabbing onto Brady like that. It's just unfair.

degenerate-afro:Oh and as a side note, this is for the refs in that game:[25.media.tumblr.com image 500x235]

I know the Ravens would have lost even without your terrible officiating, but that doesn't excuse how horrible the officiating was. Sure, that sack was defensive holding. Can't have the defense grabbing onto Brady like that. It's just unfair.

Refs have been terrible in the NFL this year. Bowe caught a ball, took 3 steps, tucked the ball and tried to turn upfield...and it was called an incomplete pass. I got a solid 2 count when I hit the replay a few times on my DVR. When the ref came out after the review, I was half expecting him to call a TD for the Bengals.

orange whip:The best part of the game was Blount doing the ray ray shuffle after the TD in the 4th

Although I found that amusing I noticed two things that tickled my fancy concerning his TDs.

On one of Blount's TDs, he actually scored the TD three times before the play was effectively over. He bowled over the goal line with the ball (1), was pushed back and then he held the football out over the goal line (2), and then pulled the ball back in and shifted to his right and ran into the end zone (3). The whistle might have been blown in there somewhere but the defenders were not giving up during that play.

The second TD you could see him notice a clear path and he broke and picked up speed to bust through that hole in hopes of getting the TD, which he did.